Why Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank won't name his competitors
Instead of naming his competitors, Plank instead refers to Nike, Adidas, and others as "the competition" or a similar term. That attitude has apparently spread down through the company, as many other Under Armour execs do the same thing.
The Baltimore Sun asked Kerry Chandler, Under Armour's chief human resources officer, why Under Armour takes such an opaque stances on its competitors.
"We honestly just don't feel the need to name them too often," Chandler told the Sun. "We are of course aware of our competition and respect them, however we're focused on what we are doing to build our brand right here in Baltimore and around the world."
Plank admits he is competitive by nature. He told NBC that he used to send a Christmas card with the phrase "You will know our name" to Nike CEO and founder Phil Knight every year.
"To me, we were always in that fight," Plank said on NBC.
The yearly holiday card was just Plank's way of making it clear that he and his company were coming for Nike. So while he may not name competitors like Nike, he certainly sees them.